AN INDEPENDENCE FROM EUROPEFormer UK MEP Mike Nattrass

It has been argued that parts of the Somerset Levels, being
below sea level, were bound to flood after such relentless
rainfall.

Although many parts are below high tide level the area is
crisscrossed by a number of rivers that naturally flow into the
Severn estuary. River banks have been raised and in low lying
areas pumping prevents localised flooding. There are also sluices
which control the movement of water into the rivers and estuary.
The estuary has one of the highest tidal 'rise and fall'
in the world and the Levels being well above the low tide mark
can be drained by gravity.

The situation is dependent on water management, the efficient
use of the sluices and rivers that can flow freely. Any silting
slows the rivers and is the primary cause of excessive rainfall
not being able to escape.

At first sight it may seem that the lack of dredging has
resulted from government cut backs, but on closer examination it
appears that resources have been switched to less important
projects. The real crux is that parts of the Somerset Levels have
been sacrificed as a result of EU directives to promote
biodiversity and the creation of inland lakes. This is reflected
in a government policy document of which Policy 6 plays a key
role.

There is also a problem in disposing of silt - made virtually
impossible under EU bureaucracy and waste rules. The EU dictates
that spoil has to be transported to landfill at enormous cost
when it could be better used to build up river banks, as in the
past, and other aspects of land reclamation.

Managing our own flood plains is yet another incentive to
leave the EU. We should take "Independence now" and run
our own Country. For this reason my party exists.